Winston S. Churchill [The Official Biography]. Volume I: Youth: 1874-1900 [with] Volume I Companion: Part 1 1874-1896 [and] Volume I Companion: Part 2 1896-1900.

CHURCHILL, Randolph S.

$350.00

Item Number: 144945

London: Heinemann, 1966-1967.

First edition of the first installment in Randolph S. Churchill’s official biography of his father, Winston S. Churchill; complete with first editions of both parts of its companion volume. Octavo, 3 volumes, original publisher’s cloth, top edges red, illustrated with photographs, frontispiece portrait of Winston S. Churchill as second lieutenant, 4th Hussars, 1895. Each volume is near fine in a fine dust jacket. Tape remnants to the front and rear endpapers. Jacket design by Tom Simmonds.

A monumental work spanning over twenty volumes, the official biography of Winston S. Churchill was authored and edited by several individuals, primarily Churchill's son, Randolph Churchill and later his official biographer, Martin Gilbert. The first two volumes were written by Churchill's son, Randolph Churchill, who also edited the two companions to volume one. Following Randolph's work, historian Martin Gilbert took on the role of official biographer. Gilbert supervised the posthumous publication of three companions to volume two, which were published under Randolph Churchill's name, as Randolph had compiled much of the material during his lifetime. Later, in 2008, Gilbert announced that the Hillsdale Press would be responsible for publishing the remaining companion volumes. The first of these was released in 2014, marking the seventeenth installment of "The Churchill Documents" series. Subsequent volumes were posthumously published by Gilbert's former research assistant Larry Arnn, with Gilbert credited as co-author. This collaborative effort has produced an exhaustive and authoritative account of Winston Churchill's life and legacy, making it an essential resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike.